Plastic Classic Forum

There is hope! Cruising World reports that the S&S34 is once again in production in Australia.

http://swarbrickyachts.com/yacht_frame.html

A few years ago I moored near a S&S 34, and despite a number of fairly obnoxious details unique to that particular boat I drooled over it more and more every time I got a look. She has since moved on to other waters, and the harbor just hasn't been the same.

My lottery-boat is still a Concordia yawl, but my potentially-realistic-someday-boat is the S&S 34, which has been something of a daunting prospect, given that not many of these were built in the first place, and that most seem to be across the pond. Australia isn't any closer, of course, but hey if there are more in the world then I have a better chance of someday stumbling across one with the friendly For Sale sign.

Though I must say I prefer the older model with the stepped coachroof.

Figment -
If you like the S&S 34, you might also consider the Tartan 34C. Admittedly, I've been brainwashed by the gang on tartanowners.org, particularly the late (and great) George Colligan who was the prototypical boat fanatic and leader of all things S&S and Tartan 34. Anyway, he wrote frequently of comparisons between the T34C and the S&S 34 and it seems the 2 are extremely similar, except in some respects the Tartan was supposedly better manufactured. Kinda prefer the finer IOR-ish aft sections of the S&S, though. Thanks to the Euro/$ rates, several T34s are now in Europe and a regatta between the 2 designs was in the works as of George's untimely passing. The S&S34 is a universally respected classic plastic in Europe.
There are a number of droolworthy boats I'd spend my lottery winnings on before the T34, but they can be had so freakin' cheaply it's an easy realistic next boat. Jeez, I could have bought a nice one for all the money I've blown on my little 27. <sigh>. 'Tis what it is.

Really nice to see someone is building a good, seakindly, mid-sized boat instead of the ultrabeamy condos for once, even if it's not a new design. Another manufacturer is building the Tartan Ten again as well, I think. Maybe there will be new Tritons someday, too!
Oh, wait, that's already being done up in Maine...

FloatingMoneyPit wrote: Kinda prefer the finer IOR-ish aft sections of the S&S, though.

Ayup. I'm all about the butt.

The Tartan 34C is a good boat, with a well-deserved reputation. I like them, and they were one of the boats on my list before I bought Pixie as the "someday" boat.

And there may well be many similarities of some sort between the Tartan 34C and the S&S 34, but from a purely visual standpoint, the boats are extremely different. The S&S 34 is the epitome of 1970s IOR design--wide beam with extremely pinched ends, particularly the stern quarters. The Tartan is in every way more traditional in design, with less extreme ends and, to my eye, a completely different overall appearance.

The Contessa 32, another well-liked design, is quite similar in appearance to the S&S 34 with many of the same styling cues.

I really like the now-classic style of the 1970s IOR days. The narrow sterns, bulbous beam amidships, and the oft-seen tumblehome in the topsides near max beam have gone from being sort of ugly duckling-ish to smooth and classic, 30 years later. Good looks can take many forms.

The Older SS 34 with the stepped roof that you mentioned is more likely the Allied Luders 33. Both were designed by Alfred "Bill" Luders and both are very similar. The Sea Sprite 34 was Bill's last production boat design. It is not a full foot longer as you would think, they just included the bow sprit in the measurement although it is a foot wider than the Luders 33. Two other differences are that the Luders has a deck stepped mast with a head rig while the SS 34 has a keel stepped mast and fractional rig.

I too drooled over the SS 34 while I owned a SS 23. Considering you can get a good ol' Luders for about 1/3 the cost of the Sea Sprite, guess what I ended up with. Both sail very well. I do not regret getting the Luders for one minute. It is the moderate overhangs and graceful sheer, that continues to make me stop to look on my way in from the mooring.

LazyGuy wrote:The Older SS 34 with the stepped roof that you mentioned is more likely the Allied Luders 33.

I'm so not an expert in IOR boats, but I did look at a couple of Allied Luders 33's when I was boat shopping, and I remember them as having a traditionally raked transom, not a "reverse" transom like I think I see on the yellow boat at the top of the thread, if that's the one you mean might be a Luders 33.

Or I'm reading the photo wrong...

R.

This message has been deleted by Lazy Guy. Oops! See next entry.

OK, Now I have to admit that I was on the wrong boat. I am a Sea Sprite fanatic and when I saw S&S 34 my mind never saw the ampersand. So all my talk about the Sea Sprite 34 and the Luders 33 does not belong on the Sparkman and Stevens 34 thread. I guess I will just have to start my own Luders 33/Sea Sprite 34 thread.

LazyGuy wrote:I guess I will just have to start my own Luders 33/Sea Sprite 34 thread.

Yes, please!
With all the other boats discussed here, it's a bit odd that we've overlooked the Luders and the seasprite.

Speaking of the S&S 34 (which I virtually never do, until this week), I just read a short article about a Polish woman who on the verge of commencing a two-year circumnavigation.... in an S&S 34!

I don't keep up on racing, so I'd never heard of her, but apparently she's got lots of racing experience and is a driven sort of person. Latitude 38 has this to say about it:

Thirty-year-old Polish beauty Natasza Caban is not just a pretty face - she's also an accomplished sailor who plans on leaving Hawaii at the end of the month aboard her Sparkman & Stephens 34 Tanasza Polska on a planned two-year solo circumnavigation, making her the youngest Polish woman to accomplish such a feat.

For anyone who's interested, here's a link to the short article in Latitude 38:

http://tinyurl.com/37lezb

And here's one to Natasza's own website (not for the faint-of-Internet-connection-speed):

http://www.nataszacaban.com/

There's a UK flag in the upper-left-hand corner that you can click on for English.

I thought it was odd to run across this now, just when this thread was active, so I had to post it.

Rachel

Jesse Martin is the youngest person to have completed a non-stop solo circumnavigation -- his boat was an S&S 34.

His book is "Lionheart : A Journey of the Human Spirit"

Here are a couple of photos from his gallery

Now squint your eyes and imagine how nice it would be when not festooned with all that globetrotting crap.

(thanks for the link!)

I just stumbled across The boat that inspired this thread on Yachtworld.

How on earth it ever found its way to the finger lakes is beyond me.

I still love this boat, but oofah that's one harsh paintjob!

I like the hard dodger with two different front windows. While there is a myriad of possible reasons for the different sized windows, it struck me a odd. Fig is right about the "Hey Mr. helicopter pilot! Yes, I am Ella and I want to be rescued - pronto" paint job. While I hope she won't need it for that reason, it could come in pretty handy.

Figment:

The story on that S&S 34 in the Finger Lakes is that the owner took a job at Cornell and brought the boat up there. Last year I tried to go take a look at it with the intent of possibly putting in a bid, and the owner pulled it off the market. Apparently he decided that he just couldn't part with her. She must feel quite constrained, being built for the ocean and stuck on Lake Cayuga. Perhaps she will get back to open water again.

As it happened, another S&S34 came on the market shortly thereafter, which I purchased and put through a major refit, some of which was discussed on this site in an earlier thread. Current pics are in the Boat Photos section: http://www.plasticclassicforum.com/view ... =30&t=4371

I think it is pretty neat that you can buy a new one today in Australia (although they cost $$$$). So far, I think they have built three new ones, and they have been doing pretty well racing against modern boats. Here in the U.S. there are very few of these. I know for sure of only four others, although I've heard rumors of one in Boston and one out in the Montauk area (although perhaps these were the finger lakes boat?).

BTW, while these look like a 1970s IOR era design, the design is from 1968. I believe Olin Stephens was involved in writing the IOR rules at the time and was influenced by them in the course of drawing the design, which is a "modernized" version of the Swan 36. They have a great history, as the first boat was owned by Ted Heath (head of the conservative party in England), who took outright honors in the 1969 Sydney to Hobart race in her and placed in the 1969 Fastnet. He went on to become Prime Minister of England in 1970.

Cheers,

MD